Hot Chocolate
by SparkyBraginski
Summary: This is the story of how you came to love chocolate brown more than icy blue, and everything in-between.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! So this one's straight up Dantana, and you should keep in mind that I'm basically pretending that everything after Trio doesn't happen. We good?**

**We good.**

**Once again, I need to thank my wonderful beta reader, Tasteless Rain. You should totally read her story Stay, it's ace.**

**Also, no chapter titles in this one, mostly cause they don't really fit and there's absolutely no character death in this story, so we can rejoice that quietly, can't we?**

**Have fun, guys!**

* * *

It was late. You can tell, because your girlfriend is fast asleep, and she always stays up too late. You release a shaky breath you didn't realize you were holding and resign yourself to two things. The first being that if you are up so late your girlfriend has fallen asleep, then it's time to start calling it too early. The second is that you never want to stay up this late again, because you think too much at this hour of the morning. There's too much on your mind at the moment for you to let yourself get lost in the silence like you can in the small hours of the morning. You look down at your girlfriend for a moment and smile softly; she's so adorable when she's asleep. She's curled into your side and her head is resting on your chest, and that could be uncomfortable if it wasn't still cold this time of year, but seeing as it is, her warmth is welcome to you. She has her hair thrown into a messy bun, half in place and half sprawling across her pillow. Her legs are tangled with yours and her laptop is off in the other corner of the bed, discarded for the night. Yours is somewhere in the living room, long forgotten to you. You look out of your window for a moment and distantly inspect the fantastic view of a brick wall you have from the bedroom window on your right. At some point you stop actively thinking and instead start examining each brick separately for and traces of grime or graffiti. After a moment you realise how repulsive the wall is and instead resume the action of observing your girlfriend. She had dyed her hair black the previous weekend, and you are still getting used to her roots being the same colour as the rest of her hair. You think she's more beautiful each time she dyes her hair. You've seen it pink and blue, and blonde with various different colours in the tips. You've seen it red as well, and you've seen her through all of the colours more than once. And somehow, each time she comes back from the hairdresser with an innocent smile on her face and slight anxiety in her dark brown eyes, you can only grin and kiss her with everything you have. By the time you pull away the anxiety is gone and she doesn't care what anyone else thinks.

Your gaze trails down from her hair, and catches on the blue feather tattooed behind her ear. You can only half see it, partly because of the angle you're looking from, and partly because of how dark it is in the room. In fact, you think you can really only see it because you know that it's there at all. You look further down her back and you can see part of the lyric inked onto her shoulder blade, he white singlet leaving it in view. You draw you eyes down her arm and contemplate her hand for a moment, the way it's gripping the bottom of your shirt in her sleep. You know the word 'stay' is hiding on the inside of that wrist, pressing into your shirt. You ponder that for a moment. It could, after all, be seen as some sort of symbolic proof of… Something. You're too tired to be able to decipher what it means, so you decide that it means nothing significant for now.

You _were_ thinking about the letter you received that morning. It was an invitation to the William McKinley Class Of 2012 two-year reunion, and when Dani had tossed it to you over your breakfast, you chose to blatantly ignore it. You hadn't heard from anyone other than Quinn in months, and you didn't want to think about it. But now you're awake and you have no distraction, and the only thing that's stopping you from tossing and turning in a more literal sense is the girl who is holding you still in her arms.

Still watching the way Dani's hand flinched randomly, holding your shirt tighter, you allow yourself to think about the conversation you had with Quinn nearly five hours ago.

* * *

"_What is it, Q?" You snap. It was the third damn time she's called you in the last ten minutes and you are trying to watch a rom-com with your girlfriend, dammit. This had better be good._

"_Hiya Quinn! How are you tonight? What could possibly be so important as to make you call me at ten o'clock at night even though you know I'm probably trying to get it on as we speak? Oh, Santana, I'm so glad you asked!"_

"_Get to the fucking point, Tubbers. This movie isn't going to watch itself." You ignore her mocking tone and drive her back to the fastest way out of this stupid conversation._

"_Whatever, Satan. Did you get your letter?" _

"_What letter?"_

_"The invitation." Quinn's voice garbles through your phone and you can't hide the way you freeze from Dani, who is sitting with her head in your lap. She looks up at you and mouths 'What is it?'. You shake your head and gesture for her to sit up so you can get to your feet. She obliges you and even moves into the bedroom to give you some room. You want to smile at how she knows you like to pace around when you're on the phone, but you choose to focus on Quinn instead._

"_Yeah, I got it." You answer. "Why?"_

_"You know B's going to be there."_

_"I do." You murmur. "Does it matter?" You walk out onto the balcony and shiver at the cold air, briefly wishing Dani was there to keep you warm. _

"_Why don't you tell me?"_

* * *

Five hours on, you still aren't sure whether it matters or not. Part of you feels like it should matter, like going back and seeing your high school sweetheart is going to be some sort of climax event. You frown bitterly, because the other part of you is adamant that you have moved on. You look back down at your girlfriend and smile softly. You can't see her face at this angle but you run your fingers through her hair and she stirs slightly.

"Maybe if you were lying down properly you'd be able to go to sleep." She mumbles into you collarbone. You feel the vibrations all the way up your neck and chuckle.

"Lift your head and let me lie down then." You say. She grunts in disapproval.

"You aren't pegging your insomnia on me."

"But I can't lie down until you lift your head."

"I'm not lifting my head until you agree to not blame this on me in the morning."

"Dani." Your voice has a mildly reprimanding tone to it, which she matches even in her state between sleep and consciousness.

"Santana."

"Okay, okay, _fine._ Now move your head!" You can't help but laugh, she's so adorable when she's like this. You know she won't remember a lick of it in the morning. She shifts slightly and you slip down so you're lying horizontally and you roll over so you're facing her and you laugh at her dissatisfied facial expression.

"What's wrong, baby?" You giggle. She scrunches her face up for a moment before she answers.

"I'm waking up." She opens her eyes and blinks blearily for a moment. She smiles softly as her vision focuses and you can't help but smile back.

"But it's not all bad, I guess." She smirks.

You two are so sickeningly in love.

But you're still worried about the reunion. And she notices that, relinquishing her tight hold of your shirt to run her thumb over your forehead. You realize that she's frowning to match yours and you immediately feel the urge to kiss her worries away.

"What's wrong?" She asks, concern laced in her words and her features. You swallow and shrug.

"It's the reunion, isn't it?" She whispers, and you recognize the way her voice doesn't crack because she's not letting it, and the way her thumb draws away from where it had come to rest on your cheek. Fear doesn't reach the surface of her eyes, but you know how to find it swirling around in the depths of the chocolate brown, hiding but not non-existent.

"I'm not afraid of seeing her and wanting to leap into her arms, Dani." You say. She looks doubtful, so you elaborate your point.

"I'm afraid of telling her that I don't want to." Your voice gets softer the further along you get in your sentence until you could barely decipher whether the words had left your mouth or not yourself, and Dani bites her lip in understanding.

* * *

_You collapse onto the couch and groan loudly, only partially resisting the urge you throw your phone at the opposite wall. It lands on the reclining chair that's over to your right, facing away from the balcony. The muffled guitar chords in the next room pause for a moment and you bury your face into a cushion as you listen to your girlfriend putting her guitar away when you hear your phone begin to vibrate again._

_"Oh my god, stop _calling _me already!" You almost scream with exasperation. You pull your face out of the cushion to make sure it isn't Quinn or someone you actually feel like talking to. You see your phone sitting up with the screen blaring at you, a picture of Brittany flashing brightly, beckoning for you to answer the call. You screech quietly and force your face back into the pillow. You hear Dani's footsteps come into the living room and for a moment you expect her to come and make you feel better but her steps move over to the recliner. _

"_Hello, Brittany." Her voices rings through your ears and you feel your stomach drop as you throw yourself into an upright position and look at Dani. She puts her hand out to shush you even as you open your mouth and you hesitate before you grumble and fold your arms in front of your chest._

"_Mmhm. San's pretty busy at the moment." Dani looks at you and arches her eyebrow, asking if you want her to put the speaker on. Your eyebrows draw together in anger as you nod vigorously and her eyebrow only arches further._

_"Yeah, she is at work actually. She left her phone at home." She glances at the clock on the wall and back at you. You force the scowl off of your face and give her a pleading look, which she smirks at for a moment before she pulls the phone away from her ear and turns the loudspeaker on, and keeps speaking._

_"No, don't call her at work, Brittany." She nearly sighs and you know that she's only containing her exasperation for your sake._

"_Hey, if her phone was at home then why didn't you answer it sooner?"_

"_Because I also have a job, Brittany. And she left her phone on silent, I only noticed you'd called just now."_

"_Can you leave her a message for me?" Dani looks at you and you shrug._

"_Yeah, I don't see why not. I can't say when it'll get to her, though."_

"_Can you tell her that she and I need to have a serious talk?" Brittany's voice sounds possessive and perhaps even slightly indignant to you, and you can feel yourself getting angry at the way she's talking to your girlfriend. Dani looks at you for a moment before she answers._

"_Look, Brittany, I get that you want to talk to her, but she's still my girlfriend, and I don't think either of us want to discontinue our relationship any time soon. I'll pass the message along to her because you're her best friend and I'd be wrong not to, but… Just, please, leave us alone. Leave _her_ alone. What you're doing is borderline harassment, and while San won't take action, I can't promise that I won't."_

"_Just because she's with you now doesn't mean she won't come home when she's done." Brittany answers and you narrow your eyes. "I'm okay with San dating you because she let me date Sam, but she'll come back to me in the end. And I'm only telling you this because she really likes you, which means I have to be nice to you, and I wanted to give you a chance to prepare yourself for her leaving you for me." Dani's knuckles are white around your phone and she answers with a short, __"I'll let her know you wanted to talk to her, Brittany, but don't expect too much from _my_ girlfriend." And then she hangs up without so much as a goodbye and drops the phone back onto the recliner like it was burning her skin._

"_Dani…" You say, carefully. Dani looks at you, and you expect anger or resentment but you get fear and hurt instead, and you're frozen for a moment while she looks at you with tears welling in her eyes, and then her arms are crossing in front of her chest and she's retreating into your bedroom._

* * *

"I promised you then, didn't I?" You speak softly, finding her hand in the dark and linking your fingers together. Her wrist brushes against yours and again you're struck with the idea of the 'stay' pressing against your skin. Dani doesn't answer, so you keep talking.

"I promised you then, I'm staying here." The word stay echoes around your mind. "And, god forbid, if I leave, it won't be to go to her. I'm-" You hesitate and immediately know it was the wrong thing to do. "I'm done with her, you hear me?" You bite your lip, thinking about how to fix your blunder. "Dani, I love _you._"

"You used to love her as well, though." Dani whispers. You shake your head, and it's awkward because of the pillow and you get hair all over your face, which she brushes out of the way reflexively, chuckling despite herself.

"I used to, Dan. But not anymore. I stopped that day."

* * *

_You follow after her as soon as you come to your senses and she virtually slams the bedroom door in your face. You can hear her crying and the sound breaks your heart._

"_Dani…" You call through the door, resting your arm against it up above your head, daring to press your forehead against the wood._

"_Go away." Her words are weak, fragile. Just like she is right now._

_"You're only saying that because you want the opposite." You say. "Baby, please let me in." There's a moment of silence and you open your mouth to speak again when the door opens inwards and you nearly fall on top of her, but you don't because her eyes are red and her blonde hair looks lifeless and you want to bundle her up in a hug and protect her from all her woes, but you know she wants space, even if only for a little longer and you're going to respect that._

"_What if she's right?"_

_"She isn't."_

_"She's known you for longer than I have, though, she knows you better."_

_"No, Dani, she doesn't. She knew me, sure, but no one knows me now like you do. You and Quinn, at least." You watch her face crumple as she finally falls into your arms, and you hold her close while she sobs._

_"I'm going to get a new phone number tomorrow, okay? And she won't bother us anymore, and I won't think about her again. I promise. Because you know who I love?" You whisper the words into her ear and let her pull away slightly to rest her forehead against yours._

"_Who do you love?" She sounds so innocent as she asks and you can't help but peck her on the lips before you answer._

"_You, Dan. I love you."_

* * *

That was four months ago, and it was a pivotal night in your relationship with Dani. You and Brittany had been on good terms, but she was persistent. She was so persistent, in fact, that she had been calling you once every two or three days at that point, asking you to come down to MIT, asking if she could come up to New York so you could talk about your relationship, and it was killing you, because you had been in this amazing place with Dani. You had just moved in together, and it was like as soon as you had settled down, Brittany caught wind of it and realized that she was losing you.

But she wasn't losing you, because you didn't belong to her anymore. And you hadn't for a while either, but it was only now, four months down the track, that you were finding yourself able to say the words. You, Santana Lopez, are not in love with Brittany S. Peirce. But knowing it and being able to say it out loud are two different things, and you could tell that Dani was getting fed up with you not being able to say it without sounding like you were breaking at the same time.

Which is why she's still frowning at you at quarter past three on the morning after you got the invitation to the William McKinley Class of 2012 two-year reunion. You know you're going to have to resort to desperate measures now.

"Dani…" You whine. "You know how hard it is for me to… You know. Be vocal about stuff that's personal." Normally you would feel humiliated to plead like this, but she knows what you're talking about. Her eyes harden and you have to correct that thought to _hoping_ she knows what you're talking about, and then her eyes soften in realization.

"The sin isn't in the action…" She trails off.

"It's in the scandal when people talk about it." You finish for her and do your best to swallow the lump in your throat. She pulls her hand from yours and rests it on your cheek, running her thumb over a stray tear.

"I'm sorry, San." She says. You nudge her hand away from your cheek and tap the tip of your nose against hers.

"I don't want to talk about that right now." You say. "Who do I love?"

"Who do you love, Santana?" She answers, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. You press a sound kiss to her lips before you answer.

"You, Dan. It's always going to be you."

* * *

"_Why don't you tell me?" Quinn's voice jumps through the phone and you glance back into the apartment before you answer._

"_It does but not for… Not for _that_ reason."_

"_Britt's been really worried about you, you know. She's been trying to track down your new phone number for ages."_

_"Does she know you have my number?"_

"_No. If she did she would've gotten it from me by now, you know how persuasive she can get."_

"_She's impossible to say no to, I know. That's sort of the problem I'm facing."_

"_Do you miss her?" Quinn's question shakes you to the bone and you turn around to face away from the street below where you're pretty sure someone's about to start a fight._

"_I do." You say. "I miss my best friend. I miss us being the Unholy Trinity. But I don't miss being with her." You look up to the sound of your bedroom door opening and watch Dani walk through the living room to the kitchen, through the glass doors that lead to the balcony. You observe Dani busying herself in the kitchen, putting the kettle on and pulling out two mugs, putting a teabag in one and pulling out a packet of hot chocolate for the other. She sits on the counter behind her and starts swinging her legs, waiting for the kettle to boil._

"_Earth to Satan! Did you hear a single word I said just then?"_

_"I was very busy watching my girlfriend do household activities." You mumble. "What did you say?"_

_"I _said_ you can't let Brittany keep going like this. You're coming to the reunion, aren't you?"_

_"Yeah."_

"_Are you bringing Dani?"_

_"I don't know."_

"Y_ou have to tell Britt."_

_"I will." You feel like she's mothering you, which is why you're shutting her down. You hear her sigh deeply and you can almost see the way she's pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation._

_"San, are you sure about this?"_

"_About what?" Your eyes are still on Dani sitting in the kitchen, and you can see her lips moving and you know she's singing._

_"Are you sure you want Dani more than Britt?" Quinn asks. You watch Dani for a moment longer, and nod to yourself._

"_Definitely." You smile. There's a shout on the street below you so you give Quinn a short farewell and go inside, just in time to hear the kettle boil. You can hear her singing now, so you shut the balcony door behind you as quietly as you can and sneak up behind her. She's so engrossed in making the drinks that she doesn't notice you, and you grin before you wrap your arms around her and press your front against her back. You laugh when she flinches._

"_San! That was mean!"_

_"You're cute, babe. Are we gonna finish this movie?" You take the moment to bury your nose into the crook of her shoulder. "I love your hair." _

"_What was that?" She says, finishing making the drinks. You kiss her shoulder before you answer._

"_I love your hair."_

"_I know." She smirks and turns around with the drinks in her hands, and she holds out the hot chocolate to you. "Now let's finish the movie." You take the mug into you hands and follow her back to the couch._

* * *

"I know." She smirks and you have to fight the urge to kiss her senseless yet again when she beats you to the punch and presses her lips to yours. You hum in approval and kiss her back for a moment before she pulls away and taps you on the nose. "Now get to sleep, it's already been Saturday for hours and I've been looking forward to our lazy day all week."

"Alright." You yawn and shut your eyes, and no sooner than you have done so, you fall asleep.

* * *

**A/N: There it is guys! Look at all that fluff! Fluffy fluffy fluff. **

**Be sure to let me know what you think!**

**P.S. I'm still in the process or writing this so expect updates to be really irregular, sorry about that.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Just to start, I did give a warning last time that this story's updates are going to be in random intervals, but it is going to get finished. I had a three day school camp last week, which is why this didn't come up sooner. **

**Um, another notable heads up would be that I'm actually going to Europe in a week, and I'll be gone for sixteen days (For those who don't know, I'm Australian). I'll still be able to write, but the chances of a chapter going up then are nil.**

**But you should enjoy this for now! And please don't be afraid to drop a review!**

* * *

_Something isn't right. You're sitting in the choir room and you've got your Cheerios uniform on. __Mr. __Schuester is writing something on the whiteboard. The room is bright and familiar, and you can see Quinn sitting in the front row in the corner with her blonde hair cut short and she's wearing one of her stupid white dresses as if to emphasis that she's pure or some other metaphorical bullshit. You can see Finnocence and Hobbit cuddled up to each other front and centre, and the Wonder Twins behind them. Trouty Mouth and Puckerman are on your left and Girl Chang and Boy Chang are sitting in front of you. Wheezy is over by Lady Hummel and Stubbles McCripple-Pants is directly in front of you, and everyone is here but something isn't right. Something's wrong, because Schue is babbling about something to do with proposing to Emma, but aren't they already married? And you keep glancing at Finn because something about his face is just _wrong_ and you get stuck on Quinn still trying to seem pure because each time you think of it you want to smirk and think that you _know _she isn't pure and you feel a hand in yours but it's not right but it's Brittany's hand so who else would be in her place? But her fingers are too long and her hand is too narrow and you suddenly feel so dizzy and nauseas. _

"_San?" Britt's voice swims around your head and you look down at her and realize you're standing up but you don't remember standing up and the whole Glee Club is looking at you and something's not right._

"_Santana, are you okay?" Will's voice sounds distant, like a memory, and you shake your head because no you're not alright something's missing and everyone frowns at you and you must've said something but you have no idea what it is._

_"What's missing, Santana?" Rachel's voice cuts clear through you and you shake your head because you don't know and you see Quinn standing up but the white dress is now a dark red and her hair is longer._

"_Do you know what you want, San?" She asks and you frown because those words are so familiar but she doesn't say them here, she's says them on the phone in New York and she's asking you about Dani – Dani – Dani. In a flash you rip away from Brittany and look at her, watching her with those innocent blue eyes that see straight through you that were so easy to fall in love with and are so hard to say no to. _

"_But it's us, San." She says. "It's always been us and it's always going to be us." Even as she's speaking you're shaking your head, _no._ No, because you aren't in high school anymore and you're in love with a girl who isn't Brittany and it's perfect and she's perfect and you try to tell her but the words are stuck to your throat like glue and you step back because everyone's standing up now and they're all telling you that you're supposed to love her because she's Brittany and you and Brittany were meant to be, it was always meant to be you. And they're all saying it and it's all you can hear and you're back against a wall and Quinn's the only one not talking but she's just standing there and you have to say it you have to say the words but they're too big to leave your mouth all of a sudden and you can feel yourself choking on the words because of those blue eyes that are so hard to say no to._

* * *

Dani's hand on your cheek pulls your from your nightmare. Your eyes snap open and you stop suffocating on blue eyes when you look into her brown ones. For a moment you're still frozen in panic and the chants of the ex-Glee Club are still ringing in your ears.

"Breathe!" Dani's voice jerks you into action and you gasp as your lungs start working again, and then your heaving air in and out to catch your breath. You shut your eyes for a moment and icy blue is burning on the inside of your eyelids. You open them again and search for brown, because brown is soft and comforting and loving and Dani's eyes remind you of hot chocolate. You focus on that as much as you can, you think about the feeling of drinking hot chocolate on a cold day, cuddled up to Dani under a blanket, safe. You focus on her eyes and you get lost in the swirls of evident concern and worry but the love is so strong. You feel more relaxed now. You can see that Dani can tell as well, because the crinkles around her eyes vanish and her hand pulls away from your cheek.

"Nightmare?" She asks. You swallow and nod. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really." You sigh. "What time is it?"

"Eleven. You still up for that lazy day?"

"Can we stay here for a little bit longer?" You ask. She smiles and nods. You take a moment to count the freckles dusted along her cheeks and nose. Even without make up, she's beautiful.

"So, the reunion." She interrupts your train of thought. "You're going, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"And you'll tell Britt?"

"I'll tell Britt." You nod. Your mind jumps back to the nightmare for a moment and you sit up.

"What is it?" Dani asks, mimicking your action. You press a hand to your forehead to clear your thoughts and she puts her hand on your thigh.

"San, what's wrong? Is it the nightmare?"

"Yeah, it's the nightmare. I need to call Quinn. Can you-" You cut yourself off because Dani is already rolling off the bed and pulling an oversized jumper on.

"Hot chocolate's on its way, babe." She smirks at you on the way out of the room.

* * *

"_So," Dani plops down onto her worn out couch and pats the cushion in front of her for you to sit in. "Tell me about yourself, Santana." _

"_Well," You draw the end of the word out while you sit down. "You already know the basics." You shrug and frown slightly as she shakes her head._

_"No, I know your _story_. I don't know you that well at all yet. Tell me something I don't know, something unexpected."_

_"Do I know anything like that about you?"_

_"Sure you do. I like working the night shift at the diner because I get to see the sunrise." She stops there, and you get the feeling that it's because she's trying to keep everything light-hearted between you two. This is the first time you've been able to talk to her properly since she kissed you on the steps leading to her apartment, and because you happened to be ending a shift at the same time, she asked you if you wanted to come over. You were more than happy to, for two reasons. One, you've been trying to find time to talk to her again for days, and two, you can escape Gayberry's constant whining about whether she got Fanny or not._

"_So tell me something like that, about you." Dani finishes. You look at her for a moment, trying to think of something. Your gaze catches on her eyes and for a second or two, you just look at them. They aren't like Brittany's, not at all. They aren't like Quinn's, either. You suppose they're the same colour as Rachel's but… Rachel's hardly ever hold the kind of warmth Dani's do at the moment. You feel like they'll stay warm when they're on you forever, and you find comfort in that you didn't think you'd ever be able to find away from Brittany. Her eyes are like… Chocolate, you think. You tilt your head to the side and get an idea._

"_Hot chocolate is my comfort drink."_

* * *

You take your time getting up, and by the time you make it into the living room, Dani is handing you a mug of hot chocolate and the phone. You kiss the corner of her mouth in thanks and hum in acknowledgment when she tells you that she'll be in her study. You take a seat on the recliner and put your drink down while you dial Quinn's number. You tilt your head to both sides to get rid of all cricks while it rings, and by the time Quinn picks up, you're awake enough to have a solid conversation with her.

"What happened to our one call a week agreement, Santana? I thought you needed time to recharge your insult banks."

"Save it Ivy Loser."

"I've heard better earlier in the morning."

"I said _shut it_, Q. We talked about a specific thing yesterday, and I missed out on my favourite part of Friday night."

"Which is?"

"Listening to you whinge about just how hard your life at Yale is, of course. Lay it on me, Q." You smirk and take a sip of your hot chocolate. Riling Quinn up never gets old. She huffs and you hear her shuffling some papers.

"Well, if you _must_ know, I was sort of in the middle of writing a mid-term paper when you called, and I kind of assumed it was important seeing as we were talking fourteen hours ago."

"We did all this talking about me then. I'm curious about how your little crush is going." You smirk again at the way her side goes dead silent for a moment.

"I don't want the next time I see her to be at the reunion." Quinn mumbles. You drink another mouthful of hot chocolate before you set the mug down and answer.

"How long is it since you came up to Brooklyn?" You ask.

"Um," You hear Quinn starting to sort through her papers again while she answers. "Like, seven months ago? You were still living with Hummelberry."

"Why don't you come up the week before the reunion?" You say, standing up and walking towards the door to Dani's study, where guitar chords were floating out intermittently. "It'll give us a chance to catch up properly, and both of us an excuse to see Rachel and Kurt."

"Wow, you used their first names. You must really miss them."

"Can it, Q. I'm doing you a solid here."

"Where would I stay? I'm doing my best to be independent in college, I can't afford to just slum it in a hotel for a week."

"I have a sofa you know. Give me a second." You take the phone away from your ear and knock on the door before you open it.

"Hey, babe." You say. Dani grunts in acknowledgement and finishes writing down a lyric on her notepad.

"Yeah?" She asks, flipping her hair off her face as she looks at you.

"Can Quinn stay here the week before the reunion?"

"Don't see why not. Except she'll have to keep her stuff packed away pretty well, the landlord already hates me enough for not letting him know when you moved in."

"So that's a yes?"

"And she has to cook." Dani says. The receiver gives out a muffled '_I'm not a servant!' _and Dani chuckles.

"Sorry Q, but you're a way better chef than I am, and I'm pretty sure you know what San's 'cooking' tastes like."

"Hey!" You snap. Sure, you know you can't cook at all, and you haven't tried in a while because Dani's actually pretty good at it, but that's a little harsh. You lift the phone back to your ear.

"So that's a yes?"

"I'll see you in three weeks, I guess."

* * *

_You're walking into the diner when you crash into Dani – literally. _

"_Oh my god, I'm so sorry." She says, bending over to pick up the papers she was holding. You quickly kneel to help her._

"_No, no, it's fine, I should've been looking where I was going."_

_"San?" She looks up and sees that you are in fact the person who hit her. You smile sheepishly._

"_Hey there. I was actually hoping to catch you, I was wondering if I could have your number." You ask, cursing the nerves in your voice. She beams at you._

"_On one condition?"_

_"And that is?" You ask, holding her arms as you both straighten. She smirks – a sight you're becoming fond of – and answers._

"_You have to agree to be my girlfriend." She says. You're sort of floored by how easily she asked you. But, then again, this is the girl who's been making you stammer and stutter and basically making you out to be a blubbering mess. This shouldn't be surprising at all._

"_Like you even needed to ask." You answer. Seriously? That's the best you could come up with? She grins and pulls her phone out._

"_Give me your number and I'll text you when I get home."_

_"Deal." You tell her your number and she's about to walk off when you quickly turn her head and kiss her on the corner of her mouth._

"_Call me." You say. She smiles and nods._

"_See you later, babe."_

* * *

"You know," Dani mumbles into your ear. "Quinn's probably not going to be huge on sleeping on the couch."

"Why's that?" You ask, shuffling further back into her embrace. The two of you are lying on said couch. One of her arms is under your neck and the other is curled around your waist, her fingers toying with the bottom of your shirt and brushing the skin just above your hip lazily. You're tracing your fingers over her tattoo on the inside of her wrist, again the word stay. The writing it loopy and beautiful, and once again you're stuck on what it means that you keep getting caught on it. The TV is playing some Big Bang Theory rerun, more there to stop the apartment from being silent than to be watched.

"Why do you think, San?"

"Oh." You smirk. "That. We could always put a sheet down."

"I think that'll make her feel worse about it, babe." Dani chuckles, pressing her lips to the back of your neck, just at the base of your skull.

"Oh, I know." You feel another giggle threatening to spill from Dani's mouth when she answers, the subtle pattern of her warm breath on your neck giving her away.

"You're such a monster."

"I would take offense but I know it's true." You pause. "You don't mind, right?" She laughs openly at this.

"Of course I don't. If I did, I wouldn't have asked you to move in with me."

"I could've just coerced you into doing that with my sexy, feminine wiles." You say. Your girlfriend laughs again and you can't help but feel triumphant at the sound. It's been your goal everyday for the last… Nearly two years now, to make her laugh. Every single day, you want to make her laugh, and you haven't failed yet.

"You keep telling me about how good your game is, but please, remind me. Who initiated the first kiss?"

"You." You grumble. You know where this is going. You're not enjoying it already.

"Who asked who on the first date?"

"You asked me."

"Who asked who to be their girlfriend?"

"You asked me…" You repeat.

"Who asked who to move in with her?"

"You asked me…" You repeat, again.

"So, who, out of the two of us, has been the driving force in this relationship?" She asks. You huff and roll over. She's grinning openly and your scowl is only egging her on.

"I have contributed to the development of this relationship just as much as you have, Dan." You say. She arches an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? How?" She challenges. You stare back at her for a moment before you answer.

"I said yes all those times." You say. You didn't think her smile could physically get any wider, but it does and then she's kissing you, and honestly you don't think there's anywhere in the world you would rather be than in your grungy apartment that's really only meant to house one person, lying on your ratty couch with your shitty TV playing in the background, kissing your girlfriend back simply because you can.

* * *

_You're about halfway through your shift and still buzzing from making your relationship with Dani official when your pay for the Yeast-I-Stat commercial arrives, and suddenly your good mood is killed. Your employer apparently got confused about what people actually find useful in certain quantities, and this is _not_ what you thought you were working for. _

_Who in the hell would want this many of these things anyway? _

_You're in the middle of complaining to Rachel about it when Kurt bursts out of the kitchen in what you assume to be some sort of weird musical theatre mating dance. And now he's talking about a Madonna cover band and Hobbit has started complaining about getting Fanny. You lose track of the conversation very quickly after this, honestly all you can think about is how long it'll take before actual rainbows and gold stars start flying out of their mouths respectively. You zone back in when Berry starts on one of her "I _am_ special!" speeches and Lady Hummel's shell-shocked expression lets you know that it's time to speak again. When you finish and Lady Face starts talking about some pact to stay in New York you regret your decision to stay when you could've viably gone to do something you get paid actual money for. Midget essentially forces you to pinky swear with them about whatever it was Porcelain was talking about and you can't help but laugh because it seems that you have in fact sunk so low as to have Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel beckoning you into a pinky swear. You thank whatever power of nature is in charge of your life when Gunther comes up and reminds the Wonder Twins that they actually have a job to do, but your parade is soundly rained on when he takes your box of Yeast-I-Stat. Sure, you don't need the stuff but you _did_ work for it. You and Kurt watch Rachel storm off to serve some customer in booth 14, and you're about to get back to work when she starts squealing._

_"Are you serious!?" He voices carries easily across the diner and you look at Kurt. He looks right back at you, mirroring your expression of 'is she talking about what I think she's talking about?'. Could she really have gotten the part? Do you dare hope that she _actually _got the part? You keep in mind; this is the part that she's wanted for longer than you've known her. Is it worth getting your hopes up? You both look back over when she runs up to you, almost in tears, shouting, "I got Fanny! I got it, I got it!" She hugs Kurt and then she hugs you – twice – and you're so happy for her you don't bother telling her not to. Not that you would have, anyway. As soon as Kurt pulls her away for a proper Broadway talk, or something, you dive into the kitchen and sneak out into the alley around the back to call Dani._

_"Hey, I thought I was gonna be the one calling you." She says upon answering. You wave your free hand in the air as you answer._

"_Forget that, Rachel got the part!" You all but scream into the phone, and you hear a plate shatter on Dani's end._

_"Shit! Are you serious?"_

"_Are you okay?" _

"_San, it's just a plate, are you serious? Rachel got the part?"_

"_She did! Like, literally four minutes ago!"_

"_That's amazing, you have to give her my congrats!" You can hear Dani shuffling around in her kitchen, presumably to clean up the remains of the plate._

_"Why don't you do that yourself? We're holding a little mini celebration at the loft tonight, but it's only the three of us. Do you think you can make it?"_

_"I wouldn't miss it!" Dani says. "Call me after your shift and I'll come over."_

"_Speaking of which, I should probably get back to that now. See you later, babe."_

_"Not if I don't see you first."_

* * *

"Do you want to talk about your nightmare now?" She's looking over her food at you and you take your time to swallow before you answer. Even then, you move your food around the plate a bit before you do.

"I don't want you to be mad at me if I tell you about it." You mumble. Her eyebrows quirk slightly and she shakes her head.

"I won't."

"It's about Brittany." You say, resolutely staring at your food.

"No, really?" She says. You scowl at your food and she sighs. You hear her put her cutlery down carefully and she slips her hand into yours.

"That's okay, San." She squeezes your hand. "I did some thinking today, and I want to support you with this, you know? I wasn't there and you haven't really told me, so I can't say for sure, but you and Brittany have history. And it's going to be hard for you, because everyone other than Elliot and me share that history with you, and they're going to see things differently. They're probably going to see you as Santana; the girl they watched fall in love with Brittany."

"Dan-"

"But that's not how I see you. I see you as Santana; the girl _I've_ fallen in love with." She squeezes your hand again. "And I'm not giving you up without a fight. I get it. It's going to be hard, and it'd all suck a lot less if it didn't need to happen, but you know what?"

"What?" You ask, finally looking up from you food.

"It does need to happen. Because even though I'm not overly fond of her, Brittany deserves to be told outright. It's the nice thing to do."

"No one back in Lima ever thought I was particularly nice, you know." You mumble. She chuckles and takes her hand from yours to tap you on the nose.

"Then they'd better get ready to meet the harmless, whipped and exponentially more morally upright Santana Lopez that exists today." She grins and you don't even bother to argue about her calling you whipped. You totally are, but she totally is as well, so you don't mind as much. And anyway, there's no one here to make fun of you over it.

"So do you want to tell me about your nightmare?" She asks, right before eating another forkful of food. You shrug and keep poking at your own meal. Where do you start?

"From the beginning, babe." She says, as though she was reading your mind. They way she's smiling… You almost think she did.

* * *

"_Do you guys always randomly break into song like that?"_

"_Not always, no. Well, okay, that's a lie. We break into song practically all the time, but it's not like you aren't guilty of it either."_

"_Please feel free to remind me of the last time I started singing openly because I felt like it."_

"_Um, like, a week and a half ago? Or have we completely forgotten the impromptu sunrise duet?" You give her a look and she huffs before she bumps her hip against yours._

"_Okay, so you got me there." She pauses. "Really, you do that often?"_

"_We were in our high school Glee club together, that was nothing, trust me. Those two will sing for any occasion."_

_"Any occasion?"_

_"I'm not kidding. Angry at someone? Sing about it. Haven't seen a friend in months? Sing about it. Dropped a plastic spoon on the floor? You'd better be prepared for a fully arranged and choreographed group number." You stop there because she's laughing and you're stricken by how much you enjoy hearing the sound. You spare her a glance and in the moment you absorb as much as possible. The way her head is tipped back and her eyes are shut, how the corners of her eyes crinkle and her hands have come up to cover her mouth. You look back at the drink in your hand and swirl it around a bit, smiling to yourself. You wouldn't mind hearing that every day. You wouldn't mind seeing it every day, either._

"_You can't be serious." She finally says._

_"I wish I wasn't." You answer, letting your small smile grow into a slightly lopsided one as you sip your champagne again. She leaves a little after that conversation and you go to bed soon after, leaving the Wonder Twins to their own devices when they decide to watch Funny Girl in celebration. It's only when you're closing your eyes in your bed when you realize; you haven't thought about Brittany since that morning. You feel a pang of guilt run through your chest, but then your mind flits back to Dani, and you pull your blankets over yourself more tightly. This is a good thing._

_If moving on from Brittany means moving on with Dani, you think you're okay with that. Sure, she's not your best friend, and she doesn't know you as well as anyone else you know does, but you're excited about getting to know her. You're excited about her getting to know you._

_Much as you'd dislike to admit it, you've met someone who you don't somewhat hate on the spot._

_That's an achievement._

* * *

"If I go with you to the reunion will you feel better?" She asks, right after you finish telling her about your dream. Your gaze trails to your glass of water and you consider it. Walking into the reunion holding Dani's hand. Introducing her to all your old friends and associates. Having her by your side when you tell Brittany. You bite your lip, thinking about all the huge moments of Dani's life that you've gotten to be with her for. A thought strikes you and you smile.

"I can't imagine not taking you." You say. You look at her and laugh. "I want to introduce you to the Glee club. I want to see Puckerman's face of utter fear when he listens to us talking about him. I want to see Mercedes telling you about how close her album is to done just so I can waltz up and tell her that you're working on your second one. I want to see Kurt and Blaine talk about how amazing it is living together now they're married so I can gloat about how great it is not having to share _our_ space with Rachel Berry, I want to be the proudest person in the room because my date is hitting it off with everyone." You grin. "I want Quinn to walk up to me while I'm watching you make my friends laugh from the drinks table and say 'She's really something special isn't she?', and the rest doesn't matter." You say. She's blushing a little but her smile matches yours so you don't care.

"And if I'm there I can hold your hand when you tell Brittany."

"And if you're there you can hold my hand when I tell Brittany."

* * *

_After Starchild's audition you and Dani ignore Kurt and go back to her apartment. You shoot Berry a short text outlining how completely stupid Hummel is being and then crash onto Dani's crummy couch, which she was already lying on, waiting for you to join her._

"_I can't believe it!" You hiss, rolling over to face her. "He always does this, it's ridiculous!"_

"_He always does what?"_

_"Every single time his talent got threatened in high school he would throw a tantrum and either ignore it or disregard it! You should've seen the way he and Berry used to go at it, it was ridiculous!" You're moving your arms around as you rant and you nearly tumble off the couch, but Dani manages to catch you before you go over the edge. She rolls until you're lying on top of her, holding yourself up by putting your hands on either side of her head._

"_Well hello." You mumble. She winks and speaks._

"_Okay, so, you know how I was taking ages to pack up?"_

_"Yeah…"_

_"I got his contact details. His name's Elliot Gilbert, and he's was devastated about not getting into the band, and, well, you saw how good he was, right?"_

_"I did. Where are you going with this?"_

_"Well, I promised that we would get Kurt to change his mind."_

_"Uh uh, nope. Not gonna happen. Nothing's going to get him to do that other than his fiancé or Berry."_

_"So? Just get Rachel to talk to him. I'm sure she can get him to do it."_

"_Even if he changes his mind, he doesn't have Eddie's-"_

_"Elliot."_

_"Same thing. Doesn't have his contact details."_

_"But _I_ do." Dani smiles. "And I just so _happen_ to know all of Kurt's work hours, so… You have to get Rachel to change Kurt's mind, I'll send Elliot a text of times he should drop by the diner, and hey presto! We've got him in our band!"_

_"And after all of this do we tell Porcelain?"_

_"Not unless we have to." She smirks, and you lean down to kiss her.  
_

_"My girlfriend's showing her mischievous side." You grunt, pulling back. Mischief dances in brown and she kisses you again._

"_Your girlfriend's an evil genius, admit it."_

"_Have I told you the underboob story, babe?" You ask. She groans and kisses you again._

"_Not now, San."_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! So sorry for the wait, but I've been working on this in my free time almost non stop to get the chapter up as quickly as possible. I have exams coming up in a week and a half, so I'm afraid there's going to be yet another extended break, but I'll be back sooner (****hopefully) this time!**

**So, I just got back on the writing horse properly, and I'm craving some feedback! Read and review (please), guys!**

**Oh, Amber and Jason are both my characters, and they will both become more important later. Just sayin'.**

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

Most people would love Sundays, but not you. For some unspeakable reason, the only time you could afford to rent out a crappy dance space was eight on Sunday morning, and you rue the day you agreed to rent it for two hours each week. You wake up at six and carefully get out of the bed from under Dani, and get ready to leave. You shower quickly and get dressed, barely remembering to snatch your keys from on top of the bookshelf when you leave. You jog down the stairs and out onto the street, turning left and heading towards the diner. You keep your walk brisk. It takes ten minutes to get to the diner from the apartment, fifteen for them to prepare your usual, five minutes to walk to the station so you can sit down and have your breakfast before a four minute ride on the subway and then walk for twenty minutes to get to the studio in time to beat the never ending line of people who'll be more than happy to use your slot if you're so much as ten seconds late. You tug your jacket closer and briefly consider introducing coffee into your diet more regularly, but you shake your head and enter the diner; you've gone this long without needing coffee to function in the morning, you're not giving in yet. Gunther starts shouting as soon as the bell announces your arrival and you shove a twenty into his chest.

"The tip is so you'll _stop shouting at me when I come here."_ You hiss, walking up to the counter and giving the girl at the counter a look.

"Morning, Santana."

"I need food."

"Already on it's way, girl. How's your week been?"

"Oh, you know. Hell. Yours?"

"You used to work here, why don't you tell me?"

"The same?"

"Obviously." Amber has been working at the diner for a few months now, and every now and then you actually find yourself missing her old bubbly, friendly behavior. Working at the Spotlight Diner would suck all of that out of you faster than you could blink; you know that. You never had the bubbly brightness and most of your time working at the diner was spent thinking up and using different biting comments about shitty pay and suicide. Dani trained the really inappropriate humour out of you as quickly as she could manage. Amber ducks into the kitchen and comes back with a slice of banana bread.

"See you next Sunday." She says.

"Not if I see you first, loser." You answer, turning and heading towards the door.

"And don't forget to-"

"Show people your resume, I know!" Every week she called the same thing after you, and usually it pissed you off, but after a while you liked that she recognized you.

Not to mention, you've seen her dance tapes. She's pretty damn good, if you do say so yourself.

* * *

_You're standing on Dani's balcony, leaning forwards against the railing and scowled at the street below you. You know you said you didn't care about Dani being fine with you being kicked out of the band, but honestly it hurt. It really, really hurt. You were still in your work uniform because you came here right after your shift finished._

"_Babe, what are you doing here?" Dani's voice hit's your ears, and a whirlwind of emotions comes to life under your skin._

"_I don't believe you." You grumble. You hear a sigh come from your girlfriend, and she stands beside you on the railing. You see her looking at you in the corner of her eye, but you resist the urge to look back._

_"_I_ don't believe _you._" She finally says. You clench your fists._

"_I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was the one who did something wrong in this situation!" You snap, turning to face her. "From what I'd gathered, girlfriends are supposed to stick up for each other!"_

"_Santana." The calmness of her voice forces you into silence. "Girlfriends stick up for each other, but _good_ girlfriends turn around and tell you when you're acting like a kid. This… _Whatever_ going on between you and Rachel? You're like little kids. It's embarrassing. I show up to practice with the boys and we all give each other sympathetic looks for a few minutes before we start working." You open your mouth but she holds up a finger to say she isn't done yet, and you can see a fire in her eyes telling you to be quiet until she's done._

"_From what I've gathered, you're angry that she isn't okay with you being her understudy, and you know what? I don't blame her. I know you can find it _difficult_ sometimes, but – just for a second – consider how _she_ feels. I don't know about the history you two have very much, but from what Kurt has told me, you literally spent years making sure she hated herself as much as you could. I'm not judging you for that, no one is the best version of themselves in high school, but you have to leave it behind. Because to _her_ what's happening here is that you're taking all of her hard work and shoving it back in her face like it's nothing. And I get it, I get you. You want to do it because you_ can_ and to you it _is_ easy, but that doesn't mean you should!" Dani pauses for a moment, and frankly you're too stunned to speak._

_"I know that you aren't happy about the type of publicity you've gotten from the ad, and you're in New York so stuff should be happening, but honestly. Santana, you're being mean for the sake of being of mean." She folds her arms and scowls at you. "I honestly thought you were better than that." _

"_News flash, Dan! I'm not the good guy! I've _never_ been the good guy, and _apparently _I never will be, either!" You snap. Even as you're talking, you regret the words. You vaguely think that in this situation Brittany would cuddle and coddle you, and maybe you would've wanted that six months ago, but not now. Right now you can tell that you want to be told outright to get over yourself. Surely enough, Dani's eyes harden and the softness of hot chocolate is lost in them._

"_My house isn't a place for you to bring your drama. Either get over yourself or go home." Dani says. "I'm getting changed. If you haven't made a decision by the time I'm back, you're leaving." She pushes past you and back into her apartment, and for a split second you think you shouldn't watch her go, but you turn anyway and watch her retreat into her bedroom. You bite your lip in thought and in almost no time at all she's back and looking at you with that same finality in her eyes._

"_So?"_

_"I'm going to quit the show."_

* * *

"I'm ten minutes early!"

"I'm sorry Miss Lopez the demand for the room was-"

"Woman I am _ten minutes early_ now give me the keys to the room _I paid for._"

"Miss Lopez-"

"No, no, you listen to me. I have been coming to this shithole every week for the last three months, don't tell me someone else had this slot booked, _I _had this slot booked." You can feel the eyes of at least a dozen nineteen year olds on the back of your head but you honestly don't care right now. This is an injustice. This is an insult.

"Miss Lopez, I understand why you are unhappy but there's really nothing to be done." The woman behind the counter says. You glare at her for a moment, pouring all the hatred and frustration and anger that built up over the last three months into it, nearly smirking as she shrinks away slightly.

"This isn't over." You say, turning on your heel. No, this isn't anywhere near over.

Your girlfriend's manager is going to hear about this.

* * *

_You've just finished your shift at the diner as you pull your phone out and call Dani._

"_I was asleep."_

_"I'm on my way to your apartment."_

"_Is something wrong?" She asks. You shake your head despite yourself._

_"No. Sort of. Not really." You sigh as you round the final corner to her apartment. "I didn't bring my keys, I wasn't expecting to need to come here. Could you-" The door opens in front of you and Dani is standing there in her pajamas, her blue hair pulled into a bun. You absently hang up your phone and step inside._

"_Thanks." You murmur, waiting for her to close the front door of the apartment building. You step out of her way as she leads the way up the stairs to her apartment and when you get into the apartment you take you shoes of as she puts the kettle on. You walk out of the small alcove in the living room that leads to the front door and remain standing as she comes back from the kitchen. Things between you two have been tense since you decided to quit the show. Partly because you still think she should apologize for letting Kurt kick you out of the band, but mostly because your attempt at calling a truce with Hobbit blew up in your face. Every time you're in a room with her now she gives you looks, which you assume are her version of subtle, and it's like she's telling you she's ready for whatever 'diabolically bitchy and Santanic thing' you have planned. You're sort of really angry that whenever you try to do genuinely nice things for her she gets suspicious. Like, weren't you there for her during her pregnancy scare? When she thought she wasn't going to get the freaking part in the first place? When she nearly showed her goodies to the world in some sort of amateur film that would do nothing other than bring her down later on if she had gone through with it?_

_It's really hard to be nice to people when they tell you that you can't possibly being doing something nice. In any case, Rachel is refusing to live in the same building as you, so Elliot's still stuck with her, and he's wasted no time complaining to the rest of One Three Hill. Dani wants you to try talking to Rachel again, but honestly you think it's about time the diva went out of her way to do something for someone else for _once.

_You watch as Dani sits down on her couch facing you and pats the cushion in front of her._

"_Tell me what's happening, babe."_

_"So…" You start, taking a seat in front of her. "You know how Kurt… Rachel and I were all in our high school's Glee Club together, right?"_

"_Yeah."_

_"The principal's finally gotten her way. The club is being disbanded, and… Apparently all of the old members are going back to McKinley for a final send off." You wring your hands together in your lap._

"_And?" Dani asks. You can feel it. She's still mad at you._

"_I'm scared." You sigh. "I'm scared that… I'm going to go and when I come back you'll have decided that I'm not worth it anymore. Or… I'll go and because we're fighting I'll just fall back into Brittany's arms because it always felt like it was easier with her…"_

"_Then go." Her voice is cold, and you look up from your hands, shaking your head._

"_No, Dani, I don't… I don't want it to be easy. If I go back to Brittany I'll spend… The rest of my _life_ feeling safe and secure, and no matter what I do, it'll never be… Hard. It'll be me and her forever, and…" You trail off. You can't say that you don't love Brittany, you do. But you think you could love Dani as well, or you might one day, and you're in New York to explore your boundaries, aren't you? _

"_And?" Her voice pulls you from your reverie and you blink for a moment, not missing the hopeful spark in her chocolate eyes._

"_And I really want to give this a proper shot."_

* * *

You storm back to your apartment and up the stairs. You jam the keys into the lock and you're about to wrench the door open and drop your bag onto the floor as loudly as you can manage when you hear an unfamiliar melody being played on the guitar through the door. You pause and listen as your girlfriend starts to sing. You listen to her sing her way through the first verse of this song you've never heard before and smile to yourself before you remember that you're standing in a dingy hallway and your creepy neighbor could come out at any given moment so you turn the key in the lock and step inside. The music stops abruptly and you remind yourself that you're actually in quite an awful mood at the moment so you dump your old Cheerios duffel bag on the floor by the door and kick your trainers off, doing your best to bounce them off the wall above the shoe basket before you storm into the living room and throwing yourself onto the couch beside Dani, who's just set her guitar on the floor.

"You're home early."

"I want to talk to Jason."

"Why do you want to talk to Jason? What's happened, babe?"

"It's the final straw. The _final_ _straw_. I got there _ten minutes early_ and they'd already given my room to _someone else._"

"So why do you want to talk to Jason…?"

"Because I was planning on putting the final touches on the choreography for the music video today!"

"When does it need to be ready by?"

"He was expecting the video this afternoon! I need you to call him so he can wring the neck of that _bloody woman_ at the front desk!" A flurry of insults are bubbling up your throat but Dani's hand on your arm grounds you and she speaks before you can continue.

"I think you should call Rachel." She says. You blink at her once or twice before you answer.

"Why would I call Rachel?" You ask.

"Well, because she's a junior at NYADA in the lead up to mid-terms, which means she'd be able to book a dance studio with little trouble, and because you're going to try and get together with her and Kurt and Quinn and Blaine in like, three weeks, so maybe giving her a call wouldn't be astray anyway." She says. "Plus, I think you should treat Jason as a last resort sort of thing, rather than a 'I can get people killed on my whim' sort of thing." Her thumb is rubbing circles into your arm and you scowl at the blank TV screen for a moment before she squeezes your arm and you sigh.

"Fine, whatever, I'll call Berry."

* * *

_You're waiting in the alley behind the club when the back door swings open and Dani steps out. The three of you, Elliot and Kurt plus yourself, look up at her. Your girlfriend looks straight to you, and you worry when you see the flurry of emotion in her eyes, but relax when her lips pull into a small smile._

_"Kurt, I think you're going to have to come up with a new name for the band."_

"_Shut up." Kurt and Elliot respond in unison, and in the moment they take to frown at each other you've already stepped forwards and taken her hands in yours. You look into her dark brown eyes that you're starting to love so much and see the joy laced in fear hidden by excitement to the untrained eye._

"_Are you serious?" You ask tentatively. She bits her lip and nods, and you just can't help it. In a second your hands are cupping her face and you've pulled her lips to yours before she can do anything else. You pull away after a moment and behind the stars in her eyes you can almost see your own sparkling back at her._

"_What happened?"_

_"He came up to me, said he was with a label, said he liked my sound and offered a contract for a single, with a 'we'll see how it goes'."_

"_Have you signed?"_

_"Not before I let you see it, no." She grins and softly adds, "He's agreed to meet with us tomorrow for coffee."_

"_I'm so proud of you." You whisper. She beams and then Elliot breaks in between you two._

"_You two have all night to be lovebirds, I think this calls for a drink. First round's on me!"_

* * *

You sit on your bed tossing the phone from one hand to the other, running through a mental checklist to see if there's anything else you could possibly afford to do before you do this. You check the time – three past ten – and sigh. You dial the number and hold the phone to your ear, listening to it ring for barely longer than one chord before the other end picks up.

"Rachel Berry's phone, Rachel Berry speaking."

"Hey, it's Santana." You say. You bit your lip in the silence that follows and frankly you're surprised she hasn't hung up on you yet.

"Hello, Santana. It's been quite a while since we last spoke."

"Yeah, it has-"

"If you're calling to apologize I'm afraid to inform you that I'm not going to accept, on the grounds that I don't need your acceptance to be happy."

"Actually, I was wondering if you could do me a favour." You say, cringing at the way she scoffs down the speaker.

"_Why_ would I do _anything_ for you?"

"I could give you a few reasons. One is, I must be desperate if I'm coming to you. The second is that we _were_ friends for a little bit in there somewhere." You chew your bottom lip for a second and sigh again, releasing it. "I know it hasn't been ideal, but I really need a hand, Rach." There's another extended silence before she replies.

"What do you need?"

* * *

_You take your seat in the booth beside Dani, sliding her iced tea towards her and taking a sip of your hot chocolate. The two of you have arrived early, partly because you wanted to have enough time to get your drinks before Jason got there, and partly because Dani has a late streak and she was terrified of missing the appointment. You can see the way she's tapping her finger on the table nervously and you give it a second longer before you reach out and close your hand over hers. She looks up at your from her drink and you look at her seriously. She swallows and pulls her hand back into her lap. You reach under the table and link your hand with hers again and squeeze it softly._

"_Babe." You say. She sighs and lifts her glass to her lips with her other hand, sipping it before she sets it down again and answers._

"_I know." She mumbles. Before you can say anything else the door to the café opens, signaled by a tinkle of a bell, and you both look up to see a man walk through the door, and the way that Dani's grip tightens tells you that this is Jason Strom, the man that had approached her the previous night. He searches the room for a moment before spotting Dani, smiling and coming over, but your eyes are stuck on the door as it opens again and none other than _Rupert fucking Campion_ strides in. You lower your head and curse under your breath in Spanish for a few seconds before looking up and smiling at Jason._

"_You must be Santana." He greets, holding his hand out. You release Dani's hand to shake it, but return it to hers immediately afterwards. _

"_You must be Jason." You smirk. He chuckles and takes a seat in the booth across from Dani._

"_Which means, logically speaking, _this_ must be Dani." He smiles. "You've got a really talented girlfriend here. You should keep her."_

_"That was the plan."_

_"I could argue that Santana is pretty talented as well." Rupert Campion's voice wafts over your head and you can't help but grind your teeth._

"_Mr. Campion," You start carefully. "This meeting is sort of important." You say. He ignores you completely and takes a seat beside Jason, across from you._

"_Rupert! Fancy meeting you here. Are you implying that I may be able to double contract here?"_

"_Oh, oh no. No. Santana, here, is a part of my grand plan."_

"_Your grand plan? Do tell."_

"_My head choreographer had a slight, um, mental snap." Campion looks towards you for a second, "Discovered his spouses second family, messy business." He turns back to Jason and continues. "Santana was the understudy for Rachel. I want her to be my new choreographer." At least four things happen around the table at this point. You're too stunned to register Dani's glass hitting the table and nearly toppling, and you can sort of hear Jason exclaiming something about you knowing _Rachel Berry_, and in your short moment of tunnel vision, all you can see is Rupert Campion's smug little smile, and one, clear thought strikes you._

_You could be back telling Berry what to do, in a completely legitimate and not-of-your-own-accord manner._

_Dani is about to sign a contract for a single with a record label, you're about to be put back on the payroll of a musical that is going to run ridiculously successfully – Hobbit wouldn't allow it to be any less – and you can still feel your girlfriend's hand tight in your own._

_Damn. Life _is_ pretty good._

* * *

You walk into the familiar rehearsal room and dump your duffel bag on the floor to the left of the door, briefly wondering why there never seem to be any other rooms available. You take a few steps, getting a feel for the spring in the floorboards and roll your neck, listening to it pop a few times before you look back at Rachel Barbra Berry.

"This is really good of you." You say, remembering Dani's final reminder – _"Be the bigger person, Santana." _– and resist the urge to roll your eyes when Rachel scoffs under her breath. You know if Dani were here she would elbow you, or give you a look to tell you to reinforce the good vibes that you're trying to give off, but instead you change the subject.

"Quinn's coming down in a couple weeks." You say, beginning to stretch. The way Rachel starts doesn't escape your notice and you continue with nonchalance.

"She's staying with me and Dan, and the three of us were wondering if you, Kurt and Blaine were available to meet up before the reunion." You stand tall before bending forwards and touching the floor. You pop your head up and look at her again.

"Are you going to that, by the way?" You ask. She shifts her weight across her feet and folds her arms across her chest and you look down so she can't see you rolling your eyes. Because, really, if you hold it in too many times your eyes may well jump out of your face in protest.

"Yes, actually, I was planning on going to the reunion. As for the six of us having a meeting beforehand, I'm not so sure, because-"

"It's okay, Berry." You interrupt, standing straight again. "I wasn't expecting you to be keen on it, but you should give Quinn a lunch or something. She's coming down for a full week so she can catch up with as many of us as possible before the mess that will be Lima, Ohio." You walk across to your duffel bag so you can start setting up the speakers, again noting how she bites her lip.

"I'll-I'll think about it." She spits out. "How's Dani?" She asks. You smile at her knowingly and pull your phone out of your pocket, pointing it at her as you answer.

"Don't worry, Yentl, your matchmaking efforts have yet to be ruined. Dani's wonderful. Her second album is coming along really well, which is why I'm here." You talk, scrolling through the songs on your phone before you get to the right one. "Jason – her manager – wanted me to choreograph the music video."

"I'm sure it's nothing too strenuous, then." Rachel's breath hitches as soon as the words have left her mouth, and they linger in the room for a moment. You make a point of making sure your phone is securely plugged into the stereo before you look at her again.

"That's two faux pas this conversation, Rachel. You're total lack of charm is showing." You grit your teeth to stop yourself from saying anything else. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't infer things about my girlfriend, and I'd also like it if you didn't act bitter about what happened on Funny Girl. So, maybe, try not to do both at the same time?" You run a hand through your hair and pull it back into a ponytail – so very cheerleader of you, you know – and let your arms rest by your sides, shrugging.

"I need to get to work now, so, as lovely as having one half of a conversation with you is, you should probably go." You say.

"I'm glad to see you haven't changed at all, Santana." She scowls.

"Gold star Berry, always the same…" You mutter, as soon as she's left the room.

* * *

"_Tell me again why Campion decided to come looking for you to be the new choreographer when he easily could've just found someone with some, you know, credentials?" Dani asks, moving from the sink to beside you on the couch, wiping her still damp hands on her pants._

"_Because in one of our conversations when he'd just casted me, I told him about how I've assisted in the choreography of several nationally acclaimed cheerleading routines. He really liked the story of Rachel and I already knowing each other, I know most of the choreography for Rachel's part, I know most of the cast… I don't have any credentials so hiring me is relatively cheap, and I'm new to the business so I'm not exactly going to crash in and try to change the whole vision because I haven't been there from the start." You say. "See? Plenty of reasons."_

"_And a ton of luck?"_

_"And a ton of luck."_

_"And a nice girlfriend?" She teases and you turn your head to look at her. You tap her on the nose happily and nod._

"_And a _gorgeous_ girlfriend."_

* * *

You watch the email move from your outbox to the sent folder, and even then wait thirty seconds before you risk closing your laptop. You set it down carefully on the coffee table and lie back, letting your head rest on the back of the couch and your eyes, finally, close.

"I hate my job." You groan. A hand ruffles your hair from behind you.

"You love your job."

"I do love my job." You mutter, opening your eyes and scanning the ceiling. The off-white surface held no blemish until it reached just above the stove, where it's only slightly darker – presumably because of the pancakes episode a few weeks ago.

"I hate Rachel Berry." You mutter.

"While I can't say you love her, you don't hate her either."

"Why are you always right." You grumble, lifting your head up. "My weekend was not relaxing." You look at Dani, who is smirking across at you from the recliner.

"You look relaxed."

"I am relaxed." Her smirk twitches slightly at the corners of her mouth.

"I'm not relaxed."

"I can see that."

"You aren't helping."

"Yes I am."

"No, you're not." You say, sitting up straight. Her smirk finally widens into a smile, and she shows off her teeth to you for a second before answering.

"I totally am." She's grinning at you now, and you can feel your resolve breaking. You put your hands over your eyes in protest.

"No, Dani, no, you can't just smile and magically make everything better."

"Yes I can."

"No you can't!" You stand up, still covering your eyes, going to hide in the bedroom. She's not doing this to you, not this time. You're going to sulk, dammit. Your shoulder hits the wall and you're about to run into the bedroom when a pair of arms snake around your waist and lift you up. You scream and kick the air with your legs in protest.

"No, Dan, babe, put me down! Put me down!"

"Not until you admit my smile fixes everything!"

"Put me down!" She swings you around and you yelp in surprise as she parades you back out into the living room.

"Admit it or I'll sit on you!" She stops for a second and you stop moving as well. You both stay like that for a moment before she shakes you in her arms.

"This is your final chance, Lopez."

"Never." You hiss.

"Alright." She starts walking towards the couch and you start wriggling again.

"Dani, stop!" You keep going but you know that she just isn't going to stop. She dumps you onto the couch and sits on your stomach. She's beaming down at you and you move to cover you face with your hands again but they're pinned to your sides.

"Get off me!"

"This'd be so much faster if you just admitted that my smile makes everything better." Her eyebrows lift slightly and you clamp your mouth shut in response. Her eyebrows lift a little more before she scrunches them smile and grins at you and you concede.

"Fine, fine! You win!"

"And?" She prompts.

"Your smile could make a baby stop crying."

"There it is." She smiles. You expect her to lean in to kiss you, but instead she gets up and starts walking towards your bedroom.

"Where are you going?" You ask.

"What?" She asks, looking over her shoulder at you. "You told me to get off." She vanishes into the room and you lie there for a moment, inspecting the ceiling once more.

It's unfathomable. Your girlfriend is a bigger tease than Quinn Fabray herself.


End file.
